Appletell

Apple’s update of the iMac line on Tuesday is really beginning to show the direction that Apple is taking in its computers. Most significantly, Apple seems to be showing signs of preparing its Macs for the world of gaming.

Some evidence of this is the new 3.06GHz processor option for the 24-inch iMac, which is suspicious only because Apple is working the current technology to get 3.06GHz out of something designed to only give 2.8GHz. Another piece of evidence is the GPU, which seems to be a stock nVIDIA 8800M GTS (even though Apple calls it an 8800 GS, but Apple also called Mobility HD 2600 XT parts HD 2600 Pro). This is a very high-end GPU and offers much more power than most Mac users currently need from the iMac.

Implementing the overclocked processor and a high-end nVIDIA GPU in an iMac is a suspicious move for Apple to make. Whether Apple is starting to optimize Macs for gaming using Boot Camp with Windows, or even preparing Mac OS X-based gaming, no one can be sure. Either way, it appears that Apple is taking a step forward towards a future of gaming in its Macs.

Geeksugar, who was right about the new MacBook Pros refresh last time around, is now reporting that new iMacs will be out next week, most likely on Tuesday.  The last time this product was updated was all the way back in August 2007, but that was a complete case redesign.  These new machines will be at the same price points, but will have faster speeds (i.e. the new Penryn processors) and a larger hard drive.  With recent news of Apple shipping 2.289 million Macs this most recent quarter, this could help raise that even more this coming quarter.

What do you think?  Is this just another rumor started to get some hype and commotion, or are new iMacs due for a little refresh?  Either way, it would be nice to see a few improvements made to the machine to draw some more customers.  So save that money you were just about to spend on a new iMac for another week or so if you can just in case this rumor turns out to be true.

Along with todays event came an update to Apple’s iPod Shuffle line. The update includes the addition of new colors to the lineup, as well as a “(PRODUCT)Red” iPod shuffle.

The old color lineup consisted of Silver, Blue, Green, Orange, and Pink. The latest color refresh includes the original silver, red, light-green, purple, and a light-blue (almost teal).

The color refresh has left a lot of people discouraged, such as myself. I’m still waiting on a black iPod Shuffle.

iPod Shuffle [Apple.com]